MURFREESBORO — This is why you coach, Scott Shafer said: To come in and spark change where change is desperately sought.

“My fondest memories,” MTSU’s first-year defensive coordinator said, “are always the jobs you went into and you got it turned around.”

Shafer, 50, has several of those memories under his belt; MTSU is hoping his new gig becomes his latest. After all, what’s a machine-like offense worth if the defense is allowing 35.8 points per game, as MTSU’s did last year? Often this offseason, MTSU coach Rick Stockstill even wondered aloud, “If we can improve there even a little, how much better can we be record-wise?”

With Shafer now leading the defense, perhaps the Blue Raiders — who went 8-5 in 2016 — will find out. The former Syracuse coach was hired by MTSU in January to replace Tyrone Nix, who was fired after five seasons.

Even before MTSU hosts Vanderbilt at Floyd Stadium on Saturday in both teams’ openers, one thing has already been made clear: This Blue Raiders defense looks different.

Nov 28, 2015; Syracuse, NY, USA; Syracuse Orange head coach Scott Shafer is carried off the field by his players after winning his final game 20-17 against the Boston College Eagles at the Carrier Dome. Mandatory Credit: Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports Mark Konezny, Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports

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A new look

Shafer’s brand of defense is more aggressive, with a strong emphasis on continually applying pressure. It’s always attacking, with a relentless effort geared toward stopping the run. Saturday’s visiting coach knows all about it.

“He's done a good job of coaching good defense,” said Vanderbilt coach Derek Mason, who, like Shafer, coached under Jim Harbaugh at Stanford. “They’re going to be physical. It’s going to be a pressure package, meant from top to bottom to stop the run and make sure that they hit the quarterback.

“I think like most coordinators, you really don’t change who you are. You may tweak a thing or two here or there, but for the most part, you can track a coordinator’s DNA and really see what they’re going to do. Now, he has different personnel, so that may change some of the things that he does, but for the most part, we are who we are.”

And who is Scott Shafer? Well, before he was the defensive guru he is today, he was a quarterback.

That’s where it started for Shafer, who played quarterback at Ohio University and Baldwin-Wallace College before becoming a graduate assistant coaching quarterbacks at Indiana.

“I thought about what I hated as a quarterback,” said the native of Painesville, Ohio. “I hated contested coverage and I hated pressure. And I said, ‘Well, that's a good place to start.’"

At each of the nine colleges where Shafer has coached, that initial foundation has held up.

“You need to find a way to stop the run, in my opinion, even with these spread offenses,” Shafer said. “I always felt like if you could stop the run early, get them behind the sticks and then force the coordinator or the quarterback's hand, you’d be in good shape.”

Sparking change

Western Michigan allowed 39.6 points per game in 2004, the year before Shafer became defensive coordinator. The turnaround under Shafer was as dramatic as it was quick.

In 2006, Western Michigan allowed 19.9 points per game. It ranked first in the nation in interceptions and sacks. The Broncos allowed 76.1 rushing yards per game, setting a Mid-American Conference record. Shafer was a nominee for the Broyles Award, given annually to the top assistant coach in college football.

From there, Shafer had a couple of high-profile, one-year stints. In 2007, he was hired as Stanford’s defensive coordinator. In a release, Harbaugh said: “Scott Shafer is considered one of the most creative and innovative defensive minds in college football." Under Shafer, the team improved in every defensive statistic from the previous year and ranked fifth in the country in sacks and 11th in tackles for a loss.

In 2008, he served as the defensive coordinator under Rich Rodriguez at Michigan. For the first time, a team did not take a step forward under his leadership. The Wolverines ranked 80th in scoring defense and Shafer said he “just didn’t fit.”

“It was horrible and wonderful at the same time,” Shafer said. “I'm from Ohio, so there were only two schools growing up: Ohio State and Michigan. So a chance to go to Michigan was huge. But what I did was what a lot of recruits do, is you don't do a good job investigating everything. I was the oil on the water."

The next year, Shafer landed on his feet at Syracuse, where he orchestrated another dramatic defensive turnaround. A year before he arrived, the Orange allowed 32.7 points per game. By 2010, Shafer’s second year as defensive coordinator, Syracuse ranked 17th out of 120 FBS teams with 19.3 points.

Shafer was not as successful as the Orange's coach from 2013-15. His teams had a combined record of 14-23 before he was fired. But his defenses remained aggressive and, for the most part, successful. During his three years as head coach, the Orange allowed an average of 27 points.

For as high-powered as MTSU’s offense is — it averaged 39.7 points last year and projects to be strong again this upcoming season — a defensive turnaround such as Western Michigan’s or Syracuse's under Shafer would propel the Blue Raiders to the next level.

“He was what I wanted. He was what I was looking for,” Stockstill said. “Felt that he was the right fit and we’re just happy that he’s here now.”

Getting discipline without even knowing it

Those who have been involved in Shafer’s defenses attest to his ability to get players to buy in.

“You could spend five or 10 minutes with him,” Conley said, “and he could get you to run through a wall.

“He's the guy that other guys want to hang out with. He's a guy that the players will look up to like a father away from home. It should surprise nobody that those kids gravitate toward him very quickly and embrace him. They're getting discipline without even knowing it.”

It’s a change that MTSU players have felt.

“There’s no downtime around him,” senior safety Alex Dale said. “Anytime we’re in drills and it’s too quiet, he’ll stop us and make sure we have energy and keep us going."

MTSU linebackers coach Siriki Diabate was hired in June after having played for Shafer at Syracuse from 2011-13 and later serving as a graduate assistant there. Diabate calls Shafer one of the most influential people in his life, but relationship aside, a chance to coach in Shafer’s system was enough reason to convince Diabate to head to Murfreesboro.

“I just love the aggressive nature of it, the attack and react mentality,” Diabate said. “The way he calls his defense and his philosophy, you just enjoy it as a player. Now coaching it, it couldn’t be any more fun.”

'An air of confidence'

MTSU’s defense last year was the 19th worst in the nation with its 35.8 points allowed per game. Senior linebacker D.J. Sanders said he “still has nightmares about the season last year.”

But Shafer brings “an air of confidence,” as Stockstill said earlier this offseason, and his presence created “a noticeable difference from the first day of spring practice.”

"I think we’ve got answers to, ‘If the opposing offense does this, if it does that,’ we’ve got an answer for it," Stockstill said. "I just have a lot of confidence in his plan, his system, and how he’s doing it.”

And if Shafer initiates another defensive turnaround, MTSU fans won’t be the only ones rejoicing.

“I tell these guys, 'We're going to be on you hard, we're going to coach you really hard,'” Shafer said. “'So when we have successes, let's have a blast. Let's celebrate with great enthusiasm.' That's kind of formula we've always looked at for years and years and hopefully we can continue it and say, ‘Hey, it's working again.’”